At Naperville North Highschool, the varsity girls’ volleyball team received a new coach for their 2025-2026 season. Following coach Jennifer Urban’s retirement after the 2024 season, Nathan Bornancin became the fourth head coach in the history of the varsity girls’ volleyball program.
In previous years, the girls’ volleyball program has been successful but even so, it is always an adjustment when there is a change of leadership. Anticipating this, Bornancin chose to focus on what he calls “program identity” and establishing connection and sisterhood between players.
“[I’m] just really focusing on each girl individually and getting to know them and making sure that they’re the best teammates and person possible,” Bornancin said.
Before taking over the head coach position, Bornancin not only served as the varsity girls’ assistant coach, but also as the varsity boys’ volleyball head coach from 2010-2022, accumulating 235 wins and a state finalist run during his tenure. He graduated from Naperville North in 2001 where he played in the boys’ volleyball program, and was awarded third place in the state championship as a junior on the boys’ varsity team. Bornancin is already working to establish his “program identity,” which means to focus on being “the best defensive team in the room.” According to Senior middle hitter and varsity captain, Jessica Dickow, the program’s identity isn’t entirely focused on defense.
“Program identity is also a lot about being like one big family. We have a F.A.M.I.L.Y. shirt that we wear every week that’s a big part of our [identity],” Dickow said.
Along with Bornancin’s arrival came the F.A.M.I.L.Y. shirt. F.A.M.I.L.Y, an acronym for “Forget About Me, I Love You,” represents the entire program’s family-like connection, symbolizing the selflessness and sisterhood of Huskie girls volleyball. Junior setter Addie Victor talked about what F.A.M.I.L.Y. means to her.
“For me what that means is playing for our seniors and knowing that they’re in their last season, so you’re just working as hard as you can for them,” Victor said.
Bornancin’s first year as head coach went extremely well. Naperville North’s girls’ varsity volleyball team finished second place in regionals with an overall record of 22-14. But according to coach Borancin, team success doesn’t only involve numbers.
“That’s hard to measure with wins and losses, but you can tell just by when you walk into the gym, or when you listen to them on the bus, and just the way they treat each other, they genuinely care, and that’s what’s important to me,” Bornancin said.
